• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Digital News Updates
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business

Attorney General Knudsen Joins Lawsuit Over Biden Administration Energy Lease Moratorium

March 25, 2021

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, and 11 other state attorneys general filed today to block the Biden administration’s ongoing violation of the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). This reckless abuse of Presidential power threatens the livelihoods of rural Montana families and will cost the state millions in tax revenue if allowed to continue.

In January, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008 declaring a moratorium on future oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on federal lands. The Biden Executive Order halted all oil and gas leasing operations, days after the Interior Department halted development and exploration of existing leases.

“Like Joe Biden’s attempt to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, his efforts to end responsible energy development on federal land is something he doesn’t have the power to do. It is a violation of the law. Biden’s ‘America Last’ energy agenda picks up where the Obama administration left off and shows no regard for rural communities or the people who live in them.”

An ongoing lease moratorium will lower employment by 210 jobs, reduce personal income by $13 million, and cost the state $4 million in oil and gas taxes, according to a University of Wyoming study published in December 2020. By 2025, the cumulative effect would be 702 fewer jobs, $170 million reduced person income, and $199 million in foregone oil and gas tax revenue.

“Federal oil and gas production in Montana is in rural areas,” the report says. The economic losses resulting from a leasing moratorium – like the one Biden has imposed – “will have an impact on rural communities and local governments reliant upon mineral tax revenue.”

The MLA and OCSLA set out specific statutory duties for the Department of the Interior to “further the expeditious and safe development of the abundant energy resources on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf.” These laws affirm Congress’s intent to responsibly use our own resources as a means of achieving energy independence.

These leases allow America to reach its full energy-production potential. For the states specifically, they also provide significant environmental benefits because portions of the lease proceeds are invested into vital environmental and restoration projects.  The federal government returns billions of dollars to states each year and environmental reclamation projects from OCSLA and MLA lease proceeds are critical for environmental restoration and protection projects.

The Biden administration purports that its lease moratorium protects the environment; but instead, it constitutes what is likely the single-largest divestment of revenue for environmental protection projects in American history. Making matters worse, the agencies implementing the Order – the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – rushed to stop long-planned lease sales without any consideration whether the action complies with the law, the public good, or the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

In addition to Montana and Louisiana the following states joined in the lawsuit filed this morning in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

Read the full complaint here.

PRESS RELEASE PROVIDED BY MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Filed Under: Featured, Home Featured, Politics

Related Articles:

  • Luring Out-of-State Professionals is Just the First Step in Solving Montana’s Health Worker Shortage
  • Montana universities set to ban TikTok on campus
  • Citizens Alliance Bank to buy Montana-based bank
  • Bigfork School Board authorizes purchase of electric bus
  • Gianforte again asks lawmakers to cut taxes
  • Big turn-out for grand opening of Montana’s newest Chick-fil-A

Primary Sidebar

Digital News Updates Logo

Recent News Posts

  • Bigfork School Board authorizes purchase of electric bus
  • Montana State University student files suit after being removed from sorority
  • Montana universities set to ban TikTok on campus
  • Grizzly bears test positive for bird flu in Montana, officials say

Recent Politics Posts

  • Helena attorney Gallus appointed as Commissioner of Political Practices
  • Gianforte again asks lawmakers to cut taxes
  • Dems to Tester and Manchin: Run in 2024, save our majority
  • Montana AG to Newsmax: Biden Cost US Billions Canceling Keystone Pipeline

Recent Business Posts

  • Citizens Alliance Bank to buy Montana-based bank
  • Luring Out-of-State Professionals is Just the First Step in Solving Montana’s Health Worker Shortage
  • Big turn-out for grand opening of Montana’s newest Chick-fil-A
  • Ignite 2023 shares business growth for Great Falls

Copyright © 2023 Digital News Updates, All Rights Reserved.